1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to a method and apparatus for refilling a container but more specifically to the identification, user interaction, and sanitizing of a container and refilling of fluid having short shelf life fluids.
2. Discussion of the Background
Lately people are concerned about the environment and are looking for ways to protect it. For example, in order to reduce the use of plastic waste, reusable containers are now utilized. U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,818 to Bradburry, discloses a method of vending a containerized product using multiple fillings of the same container. The method includes the steps of placing machine-readable indicia or means for reading on the container indicative of the price charged for both the container and the product contained therein, and at the time of placement of said indicia, or subsequently to such placement, including at a location adjacent to said indicia, a stimulus-responsive machine-readable indicator capable of responding to a stimulus to undergo a change of state which is readable, conjunctively with said indicia, by a machine, to indicate a price to be charged solely for the product in the refilled container. After initial vending of the container and the product, the container is refilled with product at least once, while concurrently, during each such refilling, stimulating said indicator to cause it to undergo said change, whereby the customer buying a refill of product is charged, on the basis of the subsequent machine reading, only for such product as is placed in the container during the refilling thereof. The container can be used for refilling multiple times, however the container is limited to only be filled with the same fluid or long lasting products. No cleaning or sanitation of the container is done in order to provide for fluids of short expiration time such as milk, juice and others.
Another example of environmental awareness is U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,763 to Brown, which discloses a method and apparatus for vending a containerized liquid product to a vendee, after an original liquid container has been emptied, by successive refilling of the product and utilizing machine-readable indicia on the container, a discount ticket or coupon being dispensed to the vendee upon completion of the filling of the container. The same principles of Bradburry apply here with the only difference that a vending machine will provide a discount ticket upon the completion of the container. Again the product is limited to the use of long lasting fluid, since no sanitation process is disclosed.
Therefore there is a need to provide a method and apparatus such as a vending machine for fluid refilling of fluid having a short shelf life. The present invention provides a vending machine that sanitizes the container as part of the refilling process in order to reduce and avoid the contamination of the refilled product.